Community and Stakeholder Engagement for Australia's Renewable Energy Projects
16 years inside government and industry. Now working for you.
Director Chris Hanna founded Social Capital Advisory after nine years inside South Australian state government and seven years leading corporate affairs for one of the state’s critical energy infrastructure organisations. The pattern was clear: good projects don’t fail on merit. They fail on relationships, timing, and community trust. SCA was founded to bridge that gap. We built our engagement practice in South Australia’s energy transition, the most renewables-saturated grid in the country, and we deliver it wherever your project is, drawing on systems knowledge and relationships that only come from working inside the approvals process.
We pair that experience with a curated network of senior, independent subject matter experts across communications, media, stakeholder engagement, community relations, and technical disciplines. It’s a deliberate model — clients get senior-level attention on every engagement, with specialist capability brought in as each project demands, without the overhead of a large firm.
We sharpen that model with artificial intelligence — integrating AI across our research, political monitoring, and stakeholder analysis so we can move faster, see further, and deliver more informed counsel than a traditional advisory our size. The technology extends our reach; the judgement remains human.
Everything we do is grounded in trust. Our relationships span both sides of South Australian politics and extend across ministers, departments, statutory authorities, local government, and federal agencies. We give honest advice, make genuine representations, and hold a reputation we’re not prepared to trade — because our credibility depends on it, and so does yours.
If you have a renewable energy project that needs a credible community and stakeholder engagement plan, anywhere in Australia, talk to us. Read more about Chris →
Chris Hanna
Director
Built on integrity, focused on outcomes
We help renewable energy developers across Australia earn community trust and win development approval, with the engagement planning, stakeholder strategy, and communications their projects need to move forward.
Integrity First
We give honest advice, even when it's not what clients want to hear. Our reputation depends on being direct.
Proven Where It Counts
We built our practice in South Australia's energy transition, the most renewables-saturated grid in the country, and we deliver it wherever your project is.
Practical Impact
We measure success by outcomes, not activity. If it doesn't move your agenda forward, we don't do it.
Relationship Respect
The relationships we've built are valuable. We protect them by only making introductions and representations we believe in.
The outcomes that matter for your project
We don't just advise — we help you deliver measurable results across government, stakeholders, and public positioning.
Anticipate Risk
Identify political and regulatory risks before they become problems. Move from reactive crisis control to proactive risk management that protects your project timeline and reputation.
Secure Alignment
Build the government and stakeholder support your project needs to proceed. Get the right people aligned around your goals through genuine relationships and strategic engagement.
Compress Approvals
Navigate regulatory and political processes faster. Our understanding of how government systems work helps you avoid delays and move through approvals efficiently.
Protect Reputation
Build a public positioning that withstands scrutiny. Develop the media presence, community trust, and stakeholder credibility that sustains your social licence to operate.
Build Coalitions
Unite industry, community, and government support behind your project. Create the aligned stakeholder network that gives your project political resilience.
Tell Your Story
Control how your project is understood by the people who matter. Build compelling narratives that resonate with government, media, and community audiences.
Senior expertise, delivered efficiently
SCA integrates modern tools — including AI — into our workflow to deliver faster research, sharper analysis, and more responsive service. We're not technology specialists; we're government relations professionals who use the best available tools to work smarter for our clients.
Rapid scanning of political, regulatory, and media landscapes so you get intelligence when you need it.
Better data synthesis, issue tracking, and scenario modelling to support strategic decision-making.
Submissions, briefings, and reports produced faster so you can act on opportunities.
Work scoped to your project and approval pathway, quoted as a fixed fee wherever possible — so you know the cost and the outcome up front.
The strategic thinking of a senior advisory firm, delivered with the responsiveness of a much larger team.
The full picture, not just pieces of it
We cover the full range of community engagement and corporate affairs that renewable energy projects need across Australia. Learn more about each service →
Engagement Planning
The community and stakeholder engagement plan your development approval requires, written to the standard assessors apply.
Government & Regulatory
Secure the political alignment and regulatory approvals your project needs to move forward on schedule.
Issues & Crisis
Identify and neutralise political and regulatory risks early, so crises don't derail your project timeline.
Reputation
Strengthen the credibility and public trust that protects your social licence and sustains stakeholder confidence.
Corporate Narrative
Define the strategic narrative that aligns government, media, and community around your project's value.
Social Licence Strategy
Earn and maintain the community support and social licence that keeps your project on track long-term.
Industry & Coalitions
Build the alliances and stakeholder coalitions that give your position political weight and sector influence.
Media & Comms
Get your story told on your terms and respond effectively when media scrutiny hits your project.
Internal Comms
Keep your team aligned and confident through complex approvals, changes, and high-stakes moments.
Market Entry
New to South Australia? Hit the ground running with the right relationships, political intelligence, and local credibility.
Deep expertise where it matters
We work with companies operating in South Australia's most politically complex and stakeholder-intensive industries.
Energy & Transmission
Our home ground. Seven years inside South Australia's transmission network gave us deep understanding of how major energy infrastructure gets approved and built — the government relationships, the community engagement, the regulatory processes, and the political dynamics that determine whether projects succeed or stall.
Renewable Energy
South Australia is at the forefront of the energy transition — wind, solar, hydrogen, and battery storage. We help renewable energy companies build the political support and community acceptance needed to move from ambition to operational reality.
Mining & Resources
From critical minerals to rare earths, we help resource companies manage the political relationships, community engagement, and public positioning that protect their social licence to operate in South Australia.
How we conduct ourselves matters
Government relations demands the highest ethical standards. Our commitment to professional conduct, political neutrality, and client confidentiality is non-negotiable.
Code of Professional Conduct
SCA operates in accordance with the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) Code of Ethics and adheres to all applicable lobbying codes and regulations.
We are registered on the South Australian Lobbyist Register and comply with the Australian Government Lobbyist Code of Conduct. We maintain strict standards around truthful representation, conflict-of-interest management, and transparent engagement with government officials and public servants.
Our advice is independent, our representations are honest, and our conduct reflects the standards our clients and government stakeholders expect.
Confidentiality & Information Handling
Working at the intersection of government and industry means handling sensitive information. We maintain rigorous confidentiality standards across all client engagements.
Client strategies, government intelligence, and stakeholder information are managed with appropriate security and never shared across engagements without explicit authorisation.
Your information is treated with the same care we'd expect for our own. That's the baseline, not the exception.
Let's talk about your project.
Every project is different. We'll start with a conversation to understand your situation, and give you honest advice about how we can help.